Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Emptiness

When Yamaoka was a brash student he visited the master Dokuon. Wanting to impress the master he said: 'There is no mind, there is no body, there is no Buddha. there is no better, there is no worse. there is no master, there is no student. there is no giving, there is no receiving. what we think we see and feel is not real. none of these seeming things really exists.'

Dokuon had been sitting quietly smoking his pipe, and saying nothing. suddenly he picked up his staff and gave Yamaoka a terrible whack. Yamaoka jumped up in anger. Dokuon said: 'since none of these things really exists, and all is emptiness, where does your anger come from? think about it.'